


Enter a special kind of character

by YomimoY



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, First Day of School, First Meetings, Garreg Mach Monastery (Fire Emblem), Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2021-01-31 06:55:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21442057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YomimoY/pseuds/YomimoY
Summary: Today was the day Claude von Riegan would enroll at the Officers Academy at Garreg Mach Monastery. He came here to learn more about Fódland and learn how to gently tear down its walls. And maybe, making some friends, just maybe.This is a take at Claude's first month at Garreg Mach including the weeks before Byleth arrives.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Claude von Riegan, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Claude von Riegan, Edelgard von Hresvelg & Claude von Riegan, Golden Deer Students & Claude von Riegan
Comments: 8
Kudos: 55





	1. Character

The day had finally arrived in which he would enroll at the Officers Academy at Garreg Mach Monastery. Donned in the traditional Golden Deer house leader uniform, Claude trotted along the halls of the monastery on his way to the chapel, to await the entrance ceremony. He found himself mesmerized by the structure of the almost a millenia old building, nothing alike anything from his home country or the Leicester Alliance. 

Claude had payed a visit to the eastern church in the Alliance territory prior to his arrival, but the chapel of the central church was on a whole different level. He found himself awestruck admiring the design and the reflected light creating mesmerizing patterns along the decorative walls. Exiting the halls leading up to the bridge connecting to his destination, his eyes wandered to the cliques of students merrily chatting amongst each other and walking across the bridge. Smiling at the bright mood he entered the breathtaking chapel. 

Inevitably, a few students have noticed his yellow cape and so the whispers began. After all, this would be his first appearance as duke Riegan’s grandson outside of the Alliance. Even within Leicester, almost only those attending the roundtable had met him before. Claude paid them no mind, basking in the enigmatic nature surrounding him, and moved ahead to chat up the two persons sitting at the front. If the rumors were true, these two would be the future rulers of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and the Adestrian Empire respectively. 

“Hey! So, judging by the fancy capes you are wearing, I assume you are my fellow house leaders?” Claude greeted, positioning himself in front of them. 

The boy with the blue cape immediately rose from his seat and executed a respectful bow when answering. “Ah, yes, you are correct. My name is Dimitri Alexandre Blayddid and I am to be the leader of the Blue Lions this year. It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person, von Riegan.” 

Bingo! Claude thought. That was indeed the prince of Faerghus in the flesh. And that introduction… That… was probably the most sincere delivery Claude had ever heard directed towards him. “Wow, your princeliness, no need to be so formal, we are all students here you know. Just Claude is fine” he said while sending Dimitri a wink. 

“Ah, but then I must insist you call me Dimitri as well”, the prince said with a flustered expression. 

“We will see what I can do about that,” Claude sent Dimitri a smile and turned to the third person, who had yet to utter a single word, simply opting to observe him with a watchful eye. “And you, princess, must be Edelgard then?” he asked with a smile. 

“That I am”, she answered curtly. “It is indeed nice to finally be able to connect a face with your name. You were announced as heir to the Riegan House only about a year ago if I’m not mistaken”, Edelgard inquired with a piercing look. 

This analyzing look Claude was more familiar with than the politeness of the prince, and he replied easily “That’s right! So, sorry for not being able to meet either of you until now, but it has been a busy year, trying to catch up to all the Alliance politics no one ever told me I would ever need beforehand.”

“Oh that is understandable and we bear no ill will against you Claude” Dimitri started, before being followed up by Edelgard.

“Yes, likewise on my side, but If you don’t mind me asking, how come we never heard about you until now? Usually if a noble household produces a child, we would have been notified about it.” the princess stated scrutinizing Claude. 

“Oh my, princess! We just met and you are already expecting me to spill all the juicy details?” He knew he should try to be on better foot with the next emperor, but he couldn’t really resist giving her his evasive an by Fódland standards possibly rude reply, mentally kicking himself for letting it slip. 

Before Edelgard could retort, however, the Archbishop’s right hand man’s voice boomed at all students to sit down and give him their attention. Edelgard swallowed whatever she was was about to say, while Dimitri and Claude proceeded to sit down and turn their heads forward. 

Once silence settled in the chamber, the man presented himself as Seteth and proceeded with the whole “Welcome to school, we expect great deeds from you, here is all the rules we need to tell you even if you are going to forget them all by the end of the day.” Of course, Seteth didn’t say it quite like that, but both him and Claude knows the reality of first days. Then the archbishop herself made her appearance and informed them about the schedule of the introduction weeks. 

Claude didn’t pay too much attention to what she was saying. Glancing to his left he saw both Edelgard and Dimitri sitting straight backed like textbook students. He guessed the nobles of the Empire and Kingdom were at least as stuck up and 'proper' like some certain Alliance nobles he knew of. 

Claude let his mind wander as to why he came here in the first place. His grandfather had often mentioned the vast amount of knowledge that could be found in ancient structures, even more so when they contain the whole history of Fódlan within its library walls. Feelings of excitement and curiosity fluttered through him at the thoughts of the library. Of course, another reason to come here was to get to know the two rulers to be beside him as they were important characters for his dream, and maybe, just maybe, this time, he could be accepted as someone’s friend... 

The feeling of Dimitri rising beside him startled Claude out of his thoughts and he noticed Edelgard were standing as well. Spotting the expectant gaze from the archbishop led him to put two and two together to join his fellow House leaders to introduce themselves to their soon to be classmates or even housemates. When he turned around to face his crowd, as expected, many of the eyes are on him, regarding him with curiosity and trying to size him up. The defense mechanism activated on its own as Claude’s lips morphed into a smile and his eyes went blank as they scanned over the students. 

This probably was the first time for many students to be in the presence of any of the future heirs of the lands of Fódlan, but Claude was well aware his presence was the most enigmatic out of the three of them. His whole upbringing had been shrouded in rumors since he was announced to inherit house Riegan. Let them be mystified by him. That’s probably for the better anyways. 

The house leaders introduced themself briefly. Edelgard greeted everyone with confidence and inspiration. Dimitri charmed the audience with his proper and polite tone and finally Claude could put in his share of words. Which wasn’t spectacular by any means, a simple introduction and a wish for everyone to get along. With that, the archbishop spoke up and asked the students to go to their respective classrooms in one hour. Until then, they were free to unload their belongings in the dormitory and explore parts of the monastery. 

The chapel was filled with the sound of people rising to their feets and excited voices as the students left the halls to settle in at the dormitory. Edelgard gave Dimitri and Claude a small nod.

“I would love to talk more with the two of you, however, Hubert is waiting for me right now. I hope you can settle in nicely at the monastery in the meantime.” And with that, Edelgard sent them a last look before joining the masses of students exiting the chapel. 

“Hmmm,” Claude mused. “She is kinda intense, buuuut I’d say it could be fun to ruffle the princess’ feathers, don’t you think?” He put his hands behind his head and tilted slightly in Dimitri’s direction. 

“Please Claude, try to be respectful,” Dimitri voiced with his brows knitted together. 

“Easy, Lion! I would never harm a single hair of any of my dear school mates,” Claude responded while throwing his hands out and shaking his head dramatically. Giving the prince a sly look, thinking he was way to kind-hearted to understand his sarcastic and teasing undertones. “No, seriously, I just like to rile people up from time to time. Makes life more interesting. But I could tone it down a little around you if it makes you uncomfortable?” Claude offered, genuinely not wanting to offend Dimitri. 

“I appreciate your offer, however, I would not like for you to conciously have to restrain your behaviour around me.” Of all responses, Claude had not expected that. “I’d much prefer you to treat me as you would any of your friends”. 

Did… did he just say friend? Claude was still taken aback at how open Dimitri was to him. Not a single hint of malice to be detected. Of course it wasn’t on a personal level, but hearing even one person unconditionally saying they would accept him was a first. None of the “Are you really the grandson of the duke?”, “What’s wrong with your eyes?” or even more hurtful comments. Still Claude couldn’t stop the thought of it being a facade of the prince from creeping its way into his mind. He quickly shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind as it first had given him a small chunk of hope. In the end he let out a small laugh. 

“Hehe, as you wish then, your royalness!” 

“Your highness,” a deep voice belonging to a tall student called out from the entrance to the chapel. 

“Dudue,” Dimitri perked up. “Do not feel obliged to wait for me. Once Claude and I are done talking for now, I promise I will meet you up at the dormitory.”

“My mind will not be at ease until I see you have reached your destination safely your highness,” Dudue asked filled with more concern than Claude had ever heard anyone speak with in all his years. 

A relented sigh left Dimitri’s lips. “It seems my friend insists on me not to be late for the class gathering.” Which wasn’t quite how Claude had interpreted Dudue’s words, but he believed Dimitri. “Do you have any errands somewhere, or would you like to accompany us on the walk there?” He invited with hopeful eyes. Seemed like getting his large buddy to go ahead was a lost cause then. 

“Nah, I’d like to get unpacked as well, so I guess I’ll tag along.” There was no way Claude would say no to those eyes and he wasn’t quite done conversing with Dimitri anyways. Besides, a stop by his room was already on his todo-list. When the two boys strode over to Dudue, Claude decided to try strike up a conversation.

“So, your name was Dudue right? I’m Claude! I assume you and his princeliness go way back?” He swayed slightly towards Dimitri. 

“You are correct,” the large man said slowly. 

“Dudue and I met four years ago,” Dimitri supplied. “We have stayed together since then”. Dimitri glanced downwards for a moment as he spoke. 

The utterance of four years and the motion of the prince’s eyes got the gears in Claude’s mind turning. He had an inkling feeling he had read something about that time frame and Faerghus in one of the many literatures he came across since arriving in Fódlan about three years ago. Asking his company about it wasn’t an option, as it would give away he that the past events and politics in the continent wasn’t completely ingrained in him. Luckily, his mind managed to dig up the connection on its own. 

The Tragedy of Duscur.

Shit! He tried to recall the conversation he had with Dimitri until know, hoping he hadn’t said anything insensitive. Then again, the prince seemed to have hard time keeping his feelings reeled in completely and Claude took pride in his ability to read people, so he was fairly certain he hadn’t brought up any too unpleasant memories for the prince. 

“Huh, that is quite some time,” Claude mused, deciding not to inquire further. Regicide was not on top of his ‘good topics and icebreakers for your first day in school’. “Hey, why don’t you tell me a little about Faerghus? I have barely been given the chance to go there and I’d love to hear about Kingdom specialities if you’d tell me.” Claude thought he’d direct the conversation to a lighter topic. 

The walk to the dormitory area was not particularly long, yet the trio managed to discuss everything between the food of their respective territory and their weapons of choice. Dimitri’s eyes had lit up at the prospect of lance practice and had expressed great interest in sparring with Claude, as none of his closer friends preferred archery. Dedue did not participate much in the conversation himself, but put on fondest smile that had ever graced the world at the notion of the prince’s excited demeanor. He seemed content to merely listen in so neither Dimitri or Claude tried to force a more active roll upon him. 

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the first floor where they had to split from Dudue, but not before Dimitri agreed to meet up with him again before dinner. . 

“It was nice meeting you! See you around later.” Claude waved. 

Dedue gave him a small nod and left the remaining two on their own.

“Well then, shall we?” Dimitri suggested, while gesturing towards the stairs to the second floor.  
“After you,” Claude snickered while performing a mock bow. Dimitri shaked his head at the clearly teasing movement, but began climbing the stairs nonetheless. 

For a few moments, only the creaking of the stairs could be heard, but Claude had one more thing he wanted to say before they would go their separate ways.

“Hey, what I said earlier still stands,” Claude began, waiting for Dimitri to turn his head slightly before continuing. “I won’t hold my punches with you unless you change your mind. Also I’m looking forward to see the princely lance skills in action soon,” Claude ended with a wink. 

“Thank you Claude,” Dimitri smiled back. “It means a lot to me and for the record, I am very much anticipating to go against your archery. If you have a free day this week, maybe we could arrange a friendly duel?” 

“No matter what my schedule looks like, I can always find some time, only for you!” Claude grinned at the blush forming on the prince’s cheeks. 

“Ah, well, um… Thank you,” he stuttered awkwardly before smiling and musing. “You are quite the character. I’ll hope to see you soon, Claude.” With that, Dimitri dipped his head in a bow and let his steps echo down the hallway. 

“Quite a character, huh?” Claude whispered to himself while watching Dimitri take off further along the walls and grasped the handle of the door to his new home.


	2. Odd

The unpacking of his personal belongings went smoothly, as in reality, it consisted of shoving his clothes in the closet, placing the books he sneaked away from the Riegan library on the nearest furniture and stoving his recreational stuff on his desk.

Claude recalled the acting headmaster had asked the students to meet their new housemates in their respective classrooms once they had settled in. Looking out of the window, he took note of the sun’s position and deemed that not enough time had passed for most people to finish up in their rooms. 

He didn’t have any reason to sit around in his room, so he pushed of the windowsill and exited into the hallway with the intention to explore the nearby areas. The greenhouse had yet to be unlocked for the students to enter, so Claude directed his steps north along the dormitory walls. 

The rustling and bustling from pushing objects around could be heard from inside the walls close to the doors, which confirmed his initial guess that most students weren’t quite done in their rooms yet. There was even some munching and happy sighs to be heard from one of the doors, which made Claude grin. 

He kept wandering the courtyard until he stumbled upon a set of stairs to his left and decided to explore where they would lead to. With a pinch of frustration, he was once again met with yet another off-limits facility, this time being the sauna. Would they never be let inside these areas or was it a temporary lockdown? Maybe he should have paid more attention at the information they were given earlier… Leaning on the rails, he stared disapprovingly at the presumably locked doors to the training halls, that could be viewed from his observation point. 

Surprisingly, the doors slowly swung open and Edelgard and a creepy looking student emerging. Claude’s eyes locked with Edelgard’s, who put her hand on her hips and called out to him.

“Claude! Would you mind coming down here? I would like to apologize for my prior behavior.” 

“Yeah, just give me a moment!” With that, Claude hoisted himself over the edge with a small jump and landed safely on the ground next to the stairs. Once he rose to his full height he saw the other student accompanying Edelgard sending him a criticising look. “So who is this fella creeping about with you?” He questioned while returning a challenging gaze.

“This is Hubert von Vestra, he has acted as my right hand man for many years,” she informed as Hubert executed a small bow.   
“A position I take great pride in. And you must be the young von Riegan, despite your eccentric appearance and jumping about,” Hubert leered, which reminded Claude that the Vestra family was known for their proficiency in the dark arts of magic. 

“The one and only,” Claude stated proudly. “Now, to make sure I heard right, you wanted to apologize?” He gave Edelgard a questioning look. “Don’t take it the wrong way, but you don’t seem to be the type to offer up apologies on a daily basis, what’s the occasion?” 

The look in Hubert’s eyes sent Claude into a vivid imagery in which the man was mere seconds from summoning some harmful spells or at least voice some death threats. A stern call from Edelgard yelling ‘Hubert!’ prevented the vision from coming to pass. Claude did however make a mental note on not pissing of the dark mage without a sound escape route or strategy planned. 

“I do not appreciate when people make assumptions about me,” Edelgard explained, letting her posture relax a little as Hubert slowly calmed his murderous intent. “But I won’t deny you were right on mark. I mostly wanted to apologize for acting more like an emperor than your classmate back at the chapel.” 

“Oh, this is about jumping straight to the information you wanted and skipping the ‘making friends formality’?” Claude put on a small smirk. “It seems both of us might need to learn the art of friend making at school ground then.”

“I see now my apology was unnecessary,” Edelgard replied thoughtfully. “We may not be off the best start, but we are not enemies Claude and I have no desire of making you one.” 

“The same goes for me, princess. While I would like to face off against you or Hubert in a battle of wits, I’d rather do it as classmates than anything else.”

“Speaking of classmates, Lady Edelgard, I would suggest making our way to the classrooms with haste,” Hubert cut in. “It wouldn’t do to keep them waiting.”

“You’re right Hubert,” Edelgard said before turning back to Claude. “The Black Eagle’s classroom is right around the corner, on the way to the Golden Deer’s. I’m assuming its about time you go to your housemates as well?” 

“Yup, let’s get going then!”

They went around the corner and said their goodbyes as the Black Eagle student’s entered their classroom and Claude trugged on towards the walls decorated by golden banners. With how inconspicuous the colour coding of the different houses were, there was no room for doubt regarding which room belonged to which house. 

Sautering into the classroom, Claude spotted five other student’s forming half a rainbow of hair colours inside the room and made his presence known. 

“Good evening my fellow deers! How are you all holding up?” Claude greeted with a huge grin. 

“So the Riegan heir himself arrives,” a boy with a ridiculous haircut sneerd. “I suppose introductions are in order, My name is Lorenz Hellman Gloucester as I am sure you’ve heard of.” He did a silly little hand movement which made two other students in the room snort. 

“I’m Leonie Pinelli!” One of them excitedly announced. “And this is, ummm, Lysithea von Ordelia, right?” She put her hand on her cheek and made eye contact with the shorter girl in the room. 

“That’s right, Leonie!” She shot Leonie a reassuring smile. 

“And I’m Raphael Kirsten!” A broad shouldered boy exclaimed. “And this here is my buddy Ignatz Victor,” he introduced the last person in the room. 

“Hello, Claude. It’s nice to meet you!” Ignatz said with an adorable smile. 

Claude proceeded to confirm everyone’s names by repeating them out loud. “Okay, got it! Nice to meet you all, looking forward to this year with you!” He could see most of the other still being a little reserved regarding him and each other, but Claude was convinced he could help changing that before their time together was up. 

“Anyways, should we continue by telling each other some bits about ourselves?” Claude suggested. “Could be anything really, hobbies, why you came to Garreg Mach, weapon of choice or anything you want to share.“

“Sure! I can go first,” Leonie started, before proudly continuing. “I’m not really into the Alliance business, I’m here to improve my skills with a bow and lance, so I can become a mercenary worthy of Captain Jeralt’s name!”

“Do you mean Jeralt the Blade Breaker, who was the captain of the Knights of Seiros about 20 years ago?” Ignatz asked. 

“Precisely!” She happily confirmed. “He passed by my village when I was younger and inspired me to walk the path of a mercenary. 

“Hmpf,” Lorenz scoffed. “There should be no need for mercenaries in this world. If any barbarians needs to be put in place, it is the nobles’ duty to do so.” Claude could feel a tinge of irritation in the air caused by Lorenz opinion. 

“Ugh! I just don’t know how to handle stuck up nobles like you!” Leonie burst out. “What makes you think you are automatically better suited to everything just because you are born as a noble!?”

“I never said I am better than any of you. It is simply a noble’s duty to protect the population of their territories.”

That’s not a fact, it’s merely your opinion,” Lysithea deadpanned. 

“As much as I appreciate us being able to state our opinions to each other, let’s leave this topic for now, all right?” Claude interfered, hoping to steer the discussion to a less heated subject. 

“Yes please!” Lysithea sighed. “I can’t handle all this childish squabbling.”

“Really?” Claude decided he had just been given a great serve to hit back with a teasing. “You look young enough to be a child yourself, which means you should be used to it.” Which might have been a mistake as he saw Lysithea’s face twist into a murderous expression. 

“I am not a child!” She screamed angrily. “I am 15! And I can assure you my magic is stronger than all of yours combined and if you don’t wish to be turned into a puddle, none of you will ever treat me as a child!” Her hands had started to crackle with some kind of dark magic. 

“Of course Lysithea, I am sorry,” Claude apologized in an overly exaggerated way, before changing his voice as if he would be talking to a baby. “From now on I’m going to treat you like the big girl you are.” If not for Ignatz stepping in, he probably would have been blasted in the face by some magic… for the second time in the same day. 

“Claude, I’m sorry, but this really isn’t helping right now,” Ignatz expressed distressfully. 

“Yeah, let’s all get along instead, by having a feast together!” Raphael joined in. 

“Oh! I see you are a man of culture,” Claude let his face light up. “As your house leader, I can ensure you all that we always can find a reason to celebrate and throw a party.” This led to Claude and Raphael spurring each other on, coming up with idéas after idéas on barbeques and their favourite foods. Leonie joined in once they begun talking about some friendly competitions they could arrange as well. 

“Hello everyone, I’m back and I brought Marianne!” A girl with pink ponytails exclaim strutting in and dragging a timid looking blue haired girl along. 

“Welcome back! And hello to you Marianne.” Ignatz said friendly. “While you were gone Claude showed up and right now we were discussing potential activities to do together.” 

“Sooo, I finally get to see you up close, Claude” Hilda said while letting here eyes roam all over Claud. “Nice to meet you, I’m Hilda Valentine Goneril and this here is Marianne von Edmund.”

“Um, hello, Claude,” Marianne said quietly, not making any eye contact. 

“Likewise! Would you two also be interested in some friendly Golden Deer competition with a grand feast afterwards?” He inquired. 

“Yeah, that could be fun, but I’m not very good at arranging events, buut if you do all do the planning and get everything we need, I’m in,” Hilda expressed with an innocent look. 

“I was hoping this could be an opportunity to work on our teamwork, so we might ask you to help out a little anyways,” Claude winked. 

“Aww, alright, but I can’t do any heavy planning or lifting. Oh, I know, I’d love to help out with decorations!” Hilda clapped her hands together and turned to Marianne. “Would you help me with that as well Marianne?”

Marianne glanced down, fidgeting with her hands. “Umm, I am not very good at that. It might be better if… if I just don’t go.” Claude was starting to be a little worried about her and more motivated to try and get to know her.

“Oh, we’d just be happy to spend some time with you Marianne, but if you’re feeling too uncomfortable, we wouldn’t want to force you to join,” Ignatz kindly offered. 

“Well, I, just don’t know what to do when I am around other people,” Marianne trailed off.

“Don’t worry about that, we will help you out and as, uh, Ignatz said, we just like having you along!” Hilda bumped her knuckles gently on Marianne’s upper arm. “Oh, right!” She exclaimed as if she had suddenly remembered something. “My brother told me there is a tradition to have a mock battle between the three houses at the end of the first month. Have you talked anything about that?”

The confused looks appearing in the room made the answer clear, so Claude decided to elaborate. “It’s a tradition dating back to when the house system was first introduced to the officers academy. Despite the actual mock battle having its execution changed over the years, the purpose of assessing our own abilities in battle and estimate the extent of our House’s teamwork still remains.”

“I see you did your homework after all,” Lorenz mumbled. 

“Of course I did,” Claude confirmed. “I know you haven’t seen me around, but did you seriously think my grandfather would be willing to let me inherit the Riegan house knowing nothing of Fódlan or Leicester? Anyway, we still don’t have the details of this year’s mock battle, but let’s pick up from where we left of regarding preferable weapon and fighting style.” 

Claude looked around the room to see if any one had any objections. “Alright, so before Hilda and Marianne got here, Leonie told us she fights with lances and bows, and Lysithea didn’t explicitly tell us yet, but as I was probably seconds from being blasted by magic, I will make a guess that you prefer the art of magic?” He met Lysithea’s eyes. 

“You are not in the green yet, Claude!” Lysithea said without any real venom. “Yes, I am very adept at the art of dark magic.”

“Dark?” Lorenz cut in astonished. “Despite the variety of black magic I encountered at my time at the School of Sorcery in Faerghus, I have never heard of anyone using Dark magic.“ 

“It is a very old form of magic and quite difficult to grasp,” Lysithea confirmed with a blank face. “Since a young age, I’ve been gifted with magic and that combined with my studious effort led me to be able to master a few spells.”

This intrigued Claude, who was already considering how they could use Lysithea’s unusual magic to their advantage in the mock battle. “Wow! That’s impressive!” Claude complimented. “As for me, I’m at my best with a bow, but I can swing a sword if someone comes up close and personal.”

“Oh, I’m actually exactly the same,” Ignatz said in slight awe. “But you are probably better at both than I am.”

“Oh don’t say that!” Claude gave a friendly smile. “This is a great deal for both of us, as I’m sure we could learn a lot from each other”

“Thanks Claude,” Ignatz smiled sheepishly. “I do pride myself on spotting details far away, so if you make a strategy for a battle, I’d do much better as an archer than on the frontline.” 

“If anyone ever comes close to you, I can take care of them!” Raphael assured with a wide grin, clapping Ignatz’s shoulder. “I don’t really think through any strategies, so I just rely on my muscles and punch my opponents.” 

“As for me, I am properly equipped to handle any weapon and magic with grace, aside from the barbaric gauntlets, yet my style of choice is the art of lance” Lorenz provided with a proud smile, rising his head.

“Um, I don’t like to fight, but if anyone gets hurt, I can, um, use some white magic,” Marianne supplied. 

“That’s great Marianne! If anything happens, I can count on you to patch up the fighters,” Hilda said with a smile.

“Okay, but how do you fight, Hilda?” Leonie asked. 

“Me? Do you think a cute, small girl like me can fight?” Hilda put her left hand at her cheeks and gave them all puppy eyes. She was, however, met with disbelief clearly written on everyone’s faces except that of one certain student.

“Well Hilda dearest, if you are ever in need of a shining knight, simply call my name,” Lorenz acknowledged with a bow. Everyone else whipped their head towards him, now in even more disbelief. Claude honestly didn’t know what to make of Lorenz. He just seemed to be in a world of his own. 

Hilda obviously took advantage of Lorenz’s misconception. “Aww, thanks Lorenz, I can always count on you!”

“Of course my dear! I am the embodiment of all what a noble should be, unlike some who apparently lack a proper bearing,” Lorenz explained, throwing Claude a disapproving look, to which Claude sighed. 

“Yeah, sorry Hilda, but you are Holst adorable little sister, right?” Claude asked asked while imitating the tone Holst would use whenever talking of his sister. “The cute, amazingly strong and most magnificent little sister in all of Fódlan, nay, the world!” He gestured wildly whilst speaking to emphasize how excited Holst could get. 

“Ugh, please stop!” Hilda begged. “Why does he have to act like that? And how are your impression so spot on!?”

“He’s probably the roundtable noble I’ve met the most thus far, and he really likes to talk about you, loudly,” Claude explained. 

“Yeah, well, I suppose that’s how it is. To be fair though, he’s been talking my ears off about you as well.” 

“Haha!” Claude let out a laugh. “Should I be worried?”

“Nah, he mostly tried to promote how he thought we would be able to get along.” Hilda flipped her hair. “He have tried to drag me to a roundtable meeting sooo many times now, and don’t get me wrong I was interested in meeting you earlier than this, but I just really can’t be bothered with all the Alliance squabbles.”

“Hilda!” Lorenz almost screamed. “How can you not be concerned with the dealings of your birthright!?“

“Like, Holst takes care of that better than I ever would and as long as everyone there just acts in self-interest, I don’t see why I should be there. I’m not ready to lose all my faith in nobles just yet.” 

“I do agree with you that many noble houses seem to act only for their own sake, but trust me, if I were to lead the roundtable, I would make certain all leaders take full responsibility for their territories and act only for the greater good of its inhabitants,“ Lorenz reasoned, expressing his views. 

“Not everyone shares your views and you know Claude is much more likely to get that position than you, right?” Hilda sighed. “Besides, before Claude appeared, Holst was tipped as the next roundtable head. Thankfully, Claude did come along, so Holst can keep doing what he prefers, namely keep watch over Fódlan’s Locket.”

Claude nodded. “Yeah, he kept gushing about how happy he was I’d be proposed to take over once my grandfather retire,” Claude mused and casually put his hands at the back of his neck. “To be honest, I’m actually looking forward to the challenge of rounding up the unruly roundtable.” 

“You are kinda odd Claude,” Hilda began. “I seriously can’t imagine why anyone would put up with the mess that is the current Alliance roundtable. I mean in a few years, you might have to put up with Lorenz there all the time.“ Lorenz let out a small, hurt grunt at that. 

“Haha, you’re probably right!” Claude let out a laugh and smirked. “Most people wouldn’t want to deal with that, but most people are not Claude von Riegan.” 

They may not be of the best start and were about as unified as the Leicester Alliance itself, which in practice meant a few parties agreed, but they still forcefully had to use glue and tread carefully as to not come apart. 

But maybe, he thought, this ‘odd’ Claude von Riegan is exactly what both the roundtable and the Golden Deer need.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we talk to Edelgard and meet the Deers! I love them all! Though as much as I do appreciate Lorenz after the time skip, I just didn't find him likeable in the beginning...

**Author's Note:**

> There we have it! I believe the school year of Garreg Mach is based on the Japanese system, in which they have an entrance ceremony or orientation day in the beginning of April, which would give us about two weeks before the three house leaders are ambushed near Remire village. 
> 
> This chapter wasn't going to be this long, but Claude likes to think and he and Dimitri want to interact with each other so here we goooo! 
> 
> I haven't written a thing in years, so if anyone has questions about my writing or any feedback, feel free to tell me. Just remember to keep a friendly tone and have a wonderful day!


End file.
